assert

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as·sert

(ə-sûrt′)

tr.v. as·sert·ed, as·sert·ing, as·serts

1. To state or express positively; affirm: asserted his innocence.

2. To defend or maintain (one's rights, for example).

3. To put into action boldly; employ or demonstrate: asserted her independence.

Idiom:

assert oneself

To act boldly or forcefully, especially in defending one's rights or stating an opinion.

[Latin asserere, assert- : ad-, ad- + serere, to join; see ser- in Indo-European roots.]

as·sert′a·ble, as·sert′i·ble adj.

as·sert′er, as·ser′tor n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

assert

(əˈsɜːt)

vb (tr)

1. to insist upon (rights, claims, etc)

2. (may take a clause as object) to state to be true; declare categorically

3. to put (oneself) forward in an insistent manner

[C17: from Latin asserere to join to oneself, from serere to join]

asˈserter, asˈsertor n

asˈsertible adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

as•sert

(əˈsɜrt)

v.t.

1. to state strongly; affirm; aver: He asserted his innocence.

2. to maintain or defend (claims, rights, etc.).

3. to state as having existence; affirm; postulate: to assert a first cause as necessary.

Idioms:

assert oneself, to claim one's rights or declare one's views firmly and forcefully.

[1595–1605; < Latin assertus, past participle of asserere to claim < as- + serere to link]

as•sert′ed•ly, adv.

as•sert′er, as•ser′tor, n.

as•sert′i•ble, adj.

syn: See declare.

assert

Past participle: asserted
Gerund: asserting

Imperative
assert
assert

Present
I assert
you assert
he/she/it asserts
we assert
you assert
they assert

Preterite
I asserted
you asserted
he/she/it asserted
we asserted
you asserted
they asserted

Present Continuous
I am asserting
you are asserting
he/she/it is asserting
we are asserting
you are asserting
they are asserting

Present Perfect
I have asserted
you have asserted
he/she/it has asserted
we have asserted
you have asserted
they have asserted

Past Continuous
I was asserting
you were asserting
he/she/it was asserting
we were asserting
you were asserting
they were asserting

Past Perfect
I had asserted
you had asserted
he/she/it had asserted
we had asserted
you had asserted
they had asserted

Future
I will assert
you will assert
he/she/it will assert
we will assert
you will assert
they will assert

Future Perfect
I will have asserted
you will have asserted
he/she/it will have asserted
we will have asserted
you will have asserted
they will have asserted

Future Continuous
I will be asserting
you will be asserting
he/she/it will be asserting
we will be asserting
you will be asserting
they will be asserting

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been asserting
you have been asserting
he/she/it has been asserting
we have been asserting
you have been asserting
they have been asserting

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been asserting
you will have been asserting
he/she/it will have been asserting
we will have been asserting
you will have been asserting
they will have been asserting

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been asserting
you had been asserting
he/she/it had been asserting
we had been asserting
you had been asserting
they had been asserting

Conditional
I would assert
you would assert
he/she/it would assert
we would assert
you would assert
they would assert

Past Conditional
I would have asserted
you would have asserted
he/she/it would have asserted
we would have asserted
you would have asserted
they would have asserted

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Verb	1.	assert - state categorically asseverate, maintain insist, take a firm stand - be emphatic or resolute and refuse to budge; "I must insist!" allege, aver, say - report or maintain; "He alleged that he was the victim of a crime"; "He said it was too late to intervene in the war"; "The registrar says that I owe the school money" predicate, proclaim - affirm or declare as an attribute or quality of; "The speech predicated the fitness of the candidate to be President"
	2.	assert - to declare or affirm solemnly and formally as true; "Before God I swear I am innocent" avow, swan, swear, affirm, aver, verify hold - assert or affirm; "Rousseau's philosophy holds that people are inherently good" claim, take - lay claim to; as of an idea; "She took credit for the whole idea" attest - authenticate, affirm to be true, genuine, or correct, as in an official capacity; "I attest this signature" declare - state firmly; "He declared that he was innocent" declare - state emphatically and authoritatively; "He declared that he needed more money to carry out the task he was charged with" protest - affirm or avow formally or solemnly; "The suspect protested his innocence" assure, tell - inform positively and with certainty and confidence; "I tell you that man is a crook!"
	3.	assert - insist on having one's opinions and rights recognized; "Women should assert themselves more!" put forward deport, comport, acquit, behave, conduct, bear, carry - behave in a certain manner; "She carried herself well"; "he bore himself with dignity"; "They conducted themselves well during these difficult times"
	4.	assert - assert to be true; "The letter asserts a free society" insist postulate, posit - take as a given; assume as a postulate or axiom; "He posited three basic laws of nature"

assert

verb

1. state, argue, maintain, declare, allege, swear, pronounce, contend, affirm, profess, attest, predicate, postulate, avow, aver, asseverate, avouch (archaic) He asserted that the bill violated the First Amendment.
state deny, refute, rebut

2. insist upon, stress, defend, uphold, put forward, vindicate, press, stand up for The republics began asserting their right to govern themselves.
insist upon retract, disavow, disclaim

assert yourself be forceful, put your foot down (informal), put yourself forward, make your presence felt, exert your influence He's speaking up and asserting himself much more now.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

assert

verb

1. To put into words positively and with conviction:

affirm, allege, argue, asseverate, aver, avouch, avow, claim, contend, declare, hold, maintain, say, state.

Idiom: have it.

2. To defend, maintain, or insist on the recognition of (one's rights, for example):

claim, vindicate.

Translations

يُأكِّـديُـصِـر عَلى

tvrdittrvat na

fastholdehævdeholde fast på

beteuern geltend machen verfechten versichern

βεβαιώνω διατείνομαι ισχυρίζομαι

afirmar aseverar defender hacer valer sostener

puolustaaväittäävakuuttaa

affirmer contraindre imposer revendiquer

staîhæfastanda fast á, halda fast fram

affermare asseverare far valere riaffermare rivendicare

atkaklusbūti aktyviamreikalautireikštisužsispyręs

aizstāvētapgalvot

holde fast insistere

beyan etmekileri sürmeksavunmak

坚持断言

assert

[əˈsɜːt] VT

1. (= declare) → afirmar, aseverar; [+ innocence] → afirmar

2. (= insist on) [+ rights] → hacer valer

3. (= establish) [+ authority] → imponer

4. to assert o.s → imponerse

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

assert

[əˈsɜː^rt] vt

(= establish) [+ authority] → affirmer
to assert o.s. → s'imposer, s'affirmer

(= declare) [+ innocence] → affirmer

(= state) [+ view, opinion] → affirmer

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

assert

(= declare) → behaupten; one’s innocence → beteuern

(= insist on) to assert one’s authority → seine Autorität geltend machen; to assert one’s rights → sein Recht behaupten; to assert one’s independence → seine Unabhängigkeit demonstrieren; to assert oneself → sich behaupten or durchsetzen (over gegenüber); if you assert yourself too much you will lose their support → wenn Sie zu bestimmt auftreten, verlieren Sie ihre Unterstützung

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

assert

[əˈsɜːt] vt (declare) → affermare, asserire; (insist on, rights) → far valere
to assert o.s. → farsi valere

assert

(əˈsəːt) verb

1. to say definitely. She asserted that she had not borrowed his book.

2. to insist on. He should assert his independence.

asˈsertion (-ʃən) noun

asˈsertive (-tiv) adjective

(too) inclined to assert oneself.

assert oneself

to state one's opinions confidently and act in a way that will make people take notice of one. You must assert yourself more if you want promotion.

assert

vt. afirmar, sostener.

References in classic literature ?

Now to say that the honour I here mean, and which was, I thought, all the honour I could be supposed to mean, will uphold, much less dictate an untruth, is to assert an absurdity too shocking to be conceived."

View in context

Let us allow the deplorable fact to assert itself, once for all, in that manner, and pass on.

View in context

Year by year the Soldiers and Artisans began more vehemently to assert -- and with increasing truth -- that there was no great difference between them and the very highest class of Polygons, now that they were raised to an equality with the latter, and enabled to grapple with all the difficulties and solve all the problems of life, whether Statical or Kinetical, by the simple process of Colour Recognition.

View in context

"My difficulty is, that I can't assert my authority, as guardian, if I assume my niece (as I do) to be a married woman.

View in context

Neither you nor I can assert the smallest right to control her.

View in context

Thus trained in the exercise not only of free will, but despotic authority, Rowena was, by her previous education, disposed both to resist and to resent any attempt to control her affections, or dispose of her hand contrary to her inclinations, and to assert her independence in a case in which even those females who have been trained up to obedience and subjection, are not infrequently apt to dispute the authority of guardians and parents.

View in context

"By God, gentlemen," said Don Quixote, "so many strange things have happened to me in this castle on the two occasions on which I have sojourned in it, that I will not venture to assert anything positively in reply to any question touching anything it contains; for it is my belief that everything that goes on within it goes by enchantment.

View in context

"What, monsieur," said De Wardes, setting his teeth hard together, and resting the point of his sword on the toe of his boot, "do you assert that I do not know M.

View in context

The old councillor, who had had three orders given him to make him hold his tongue, asserted that the Leap-frog was a prophet; for that one could see on his back, if there would be a severe or mild winter, and that was what one could not see even on the back of the man who writes the almanac.

View in context

"It is my beauty that dazzles you," she asserted. "You Munchkin people all strut around in your stupid blue color, while I--"

View in context

Even this very evening, when I told him he was an insignificant creature who lived in a small pool, he asserted that the water was greater and more important than the land.

View in context

Mosey put her handkerchief in her pocket, and asserted her dignity.

View in context

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